Did it with a mate last December. We figured 6 long pitches or so at 17 should be 6 hours max, so we took a muesli bar (to share) and 1.5L water total.

11 hours later we stumbled back to the tope of the crevasse, seriously dehydrated and completely wasted.

That said, simply one of the most fun days of climbing I've ever done. I can do hand jams a bit, but it's slightly flaring and wider than I expected, so I ended up aiding a lot of it (hence the slow speed). My partner wasn't much of a crack climber at all, so he ended up prussiking most of the route, while I freed/aided the thing on lead. Once we got out of the crack and past the little chimney, an afternoon thunderstom blew in and was bloody close to us, so that added a good bit of fear to the whole experience too. We got lost on the last pitch or two, and ended up too far to the climbers right pulling on tree roots, digging out cam placements with our nut tools etc. The #4 BD Camalot was my most favoured piece of gear for that climb. I'd take two of them if you could source them. #3 and #2 were also nice to have as doubles.

Highly recommended, but this isn't you average Araps grade 17 multipitch, so don't underestimate it like we did.

I would be wary of doing the thing in summer unless you know you're confident that you can do it quick. Mike Bee's experience of the route is not out of the ordinary. The thing is only 250m or so, but 200 of those meters involve shuffling up a flaring, toothy trench, and the sun hits before noon in summer.......you won't be enjoying it any more once you're frying in the sun. Any reason why it has to be January instead of March or April?

I reckon Nick Clow's rack advice is bullshit, not sure if he's intentionally being a prick. I went up there with the rack he suggests and was pretty unimpressed with the "smaller stuff in the back of the crack". If you go that light on big cams, you're signing up for 5-10m run outs between all your pieces. Not too bad if you have a few grades in hand, I'd have been packing shit if 17 was my limit. 4 blue cams is not excessive!

Also, I didn't think of this at the time, but by all reports the route is much easier in sticky approach shoes than normal rock shoes (you'll work out why pretty quick). Use a whole roll of tape on your hands, wrists, and ankles. Good luck, it's a cool route.

I did it with Mrs Gribble and some Natimuk Glitterati many years ago. All going well until we were consumed by a violent thunderstorm 1 pitch from the top and had to be rescued by other Natimuk Glitterati.

Agree, it's a great climb to look at but hard work. If only the crack were hand size......

And thank god for Natimuk Glitterati, they crop up just when you need them!

So I realised with embarrassment that I've done something I hate - talking about something before doing it. Makes me feel like I'm spraying - thanks for the lack of 'stop talking about it and just get on you spray-princess!' responses which I would've half-expected with more forethought.

More seriously though, thanks for the advice (and the horror stories). Was definitely planning on a pre-dawn start for the walk-in, and scoping of the approach beforehand. The tip about caching some water is appreciated, as is the beta about gear (four #4's? Goddamn, I can climb 17 most everywhere, but maybe not with that kinda weight, along with H2O, shoes, a #5 for pitch 6, cigarettes...). ODL - I don't think Nick is being a prick, he's just more comfortable with that kinda spacing of gear than me! And why does it have to be Jan? Because that's when I'm next there. If it's 40C, I'll leave it for another time, but, while we'll climb as fast as we can, I'm not going up it expecting 'fun'. And Cam - long time! (I was reminded of our first day climbing together when, the other weekend at Araps, I got partway up XI before realising I didn't have any quickdraws - like on the late Stegalosaurus) Thanks for the tip, but I reckon I'll pass on finishing up Caligula.

But really, my secret weapon is a work colleague who has offered me pitch-by-pitch beta, and he sounded (and looked from the photos) like he cruised it. I'll build up my confidence, then just never look up while on the route, just focus on one jam at a time.

Don't bother with the 5 Camalot. It will hardly get used, and there are always other options not to far away. We climbed with a 5, and it got placed exactly twice on the entire route. Taking a few hexes for use in the anchors can also help cutting down the potentially bulky rack (or beef up an anaemic one).

On 23/11/2012 Will_P wrote:
And Cam - long time! (I was reminded of>our first day climbing together when, the other weekend at Araps, I got>partway up XI before realising I didn't have any quickdraws - like on the>late Stegalosaurus) Thanks for the tip, but I reckon I'll pass on finishing>up Caligula. >

Long time indeed. Living down in Hobart now (just moved down last month).

On 26/11/2012 pmonks wrote:>On 21/11/2012 IdratherbeclimbingM9 wrote:>>I've got 4 weeks to get my fitness level up to a point that will match>>yours, bring it on ... heliornocopter!>>☺>>herniocopter?

Earlier on 21/11/2012 Superstu wrote:>Ah, so you have arranged us to be heli coptered into the start then ?

I've heard of bubble c--kpit choppers but not a chopper with hernia... ☺
~> It's granite slab country mate. Even old unfit climbers are unlikely to get a hernia on those, unless we are talking the horrie bush-bash into the start!
Heh, heh, heh.

On 23/11/2012 phillipivan wrote:>Taking a few hexes for use in the anchors>can also help cutting down the potentially bulky rack

So, how much weight do you suppose you'd save by taking a #10 and #11 hex, instead of an extra two blue camalots (which go in all over the place on that route, are way quicker in and out, and are more bomber in flarey buffalo cracks)?

>>So, how much weight do you suppose you'd save by taking a #10 and #11>hex, instead of an extra two blue camalots (which go in all over the place>on that route, are way quicker in and out, and are more bomber in flarey>buffalo cracks)?